General Motors and the UAW touted gains in their tentative agreement that would allow all current full-time workers to reach wages of $32.32 per hour by the end of the contract.
But those gains don't apply to everyone.
GM has separate classes of workers who aren't paid equally under this proposed deal (and others before it). They include roughly 3,000 employees of General Motors Components Holdings, a subsidiary created in 2009 after the bankruptcy of supplier Delphi Corp.
Those GMCH workers are spread across four plants — two in western New York, one in Kokomo, Ind., and one in Wyoming, Mich. — that make radiators, condensers, coolers and other vehicle parts for GM and other companies. Some workers at those plants say they feel left out of a deal that the union says achieves "major wins" for its members.
"In general, I just don't see a lot of wins," said Bob Schimschack, a 52-year-old worker at the GMCH plant in Lockport, N.Y. "GMCH has always been referred to as the redheaded stepchild. We got the crumbs that fell off the table."
That feeling has been reflected in early voting results, which show workers at other plants largely supporting the deal. Roughly 81 percent of production workers at the two GMCH plants in New York voted against the deal, while 62 percent of skilled trades workers at both plants voted no. The Michigan and Indiana plants wrap up voting on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, top wages for GMCH employees hired after Nov. 16, 2015, have been raised from $19.86 after four years to $22.50 after eight years, according to the summary distributed by the UAW. Once the workers hit top wages, they're eligible for a 4 percent bonus payment.
GMCH workers get similar benefits to "in-progression" assembly plant employees and are eligible for the full $11,000 ratification bonus vs. the $4,500 bonus for temporary employees.
But some are concerned that their pay remains lower than that of workers at GM's parts distribution centers, known as CCAs, where wages top out at more than $30. They're also displeased that GM still has the power to consolidate or sell their plants at any time, which they say leads to anxiety over job security.
"I thought this was supposed to be a no-concessions contract," said Schimschack, who has worked at the plant since 1999. "This was our time — first time we've been on strike like this in 50 years. I expected something a little better."
